August 30, 2014

Imps, Pixies and Surrealism (1947-48)

Today brings one of my annual preparing-for-vacation-trip posts, with a dash of comics for kids (we'll get back to the second part of our Music Master series next time). First, some Pixies, from their fourth comic book, issued in 1947. This one caught my eye recently because of a mention I read about a scene from this book that was censored in a later reprinting. Well, that had to be something worth a look, and we'll see a couple of highlights from this odd comic book to open our post, followed by a really nutty Captain Marvel story from 1948 that also tickled my fancy. Just some light reading today, to break up the 'harder' stuff that I have lined up for future posts. Join me for some surrealism and insect fun after the jump!

The Grand Comics Database has no information regarding the author and artist for this Pixies magazine, so, enjoy! It's another comic book mystery!

"Hit on the head - his only weak spot, the Atom passes out..."

Above is the scene that was removed when the story was re-printed years later. I'm not sure what part of the inside of a radio they had her tied to earlier, but obviously the writer liked to place her in danger to create a need for the Mighty Atom to go into action. I like the designs of the insect characters, by the way.

Above right, we see the back cover of this issue of the Pixies, with an ad for the short-lived Funnymanbook by Jerry Seigel and Joe Shuster, who created this character with the agreement that they would retain the rights to it, unlike what happened with Superman, a little property that they sold off. Of course Funnyman achieved nowhere near the success of Supes. In fact it tanked.

Next up today is a queer little piece from Captain Marvel Adventures #84, May 1948. Cover art by C. C. Beck, and script by Bill Woolfolk. I was immediately attracted to a book with Cap struggling with an anthropomorphic microphone on the cover! The story is equally bizarre.

Well there we have it, a bit of late-1940s fun for the kids. I'll be back in two weeks at this time (if I can keep on my deadline - I've been terrible at that lately!) with more four-color goodies involving music, radio, movies and just plain oddity. I have some really great stories lined up for the coming month so get set for a crazy comic book ride!Oh, and let's not forget to mention again the wonderful Digital Comic Museum, from whence came these colorful pages! They are an invaluable resource for seeking out and finding all sorts of fascinating comic treasures.